About Washington Land Records
Washington is a federal-land state. Lands were generally acquired
from the federal government or from other individuals. Federal land
was available under a variety of programs. The most popular was through
Donation Lands or Homestead acts. Donation entry files for Oregon and
Washington are on file separately at the National Archives/Pacific
Northwest Region in Seattle from 1851 to 1903. A large portion of the
donation land claim files have been indexed or abstracted, and these
indexes are on file at the National Archives and the FHL under the
title Abstracts of Washington Donation Land Claims, 1855–1902
(National Archives, 1951). The Seattle Genealogical Society has indexed
and published the Washington Donation Land Records.
Federal records were kept by the local General Land Office, which
is now the Bureau of Land Management. The tract books for these offices
are now at the Federal Bureau of Land Management, 825 N.E. Multnomah
Street, Portland, OR 97208. Land-entry case files house the application
process for most federal transactions. Copies of these files, including
homesteads, can be obtained from the National Archives in Washington,
D.C. If an ancestor was a miner, the Washington State Archives publication "Index
to Mining Surveys, 1883–1964," will be valuable. This publication
provides an index to the sixty-six volumes of the Surveyor General's
surveys of mining claims in the territory and state of Washington.
These are arranged alphabetically by mine name, mining district, volume,
and page number. The mining surveys themselves are available on microfilm
at the state archives.
Once land was transferred from the government to an individual, it
was thereafter transacted by deeds recorded with the county auditor.
For further information on land and property research, consult:
Hone, E. Wade. Land and Property Research in the United States. Salt
Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.
Washington BLM Office:
Oregon State Office (Includes Washington)
Bureau of Land Management
333 SW 1st Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204
P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97208
Telephone: 503-808-6002
Fax Number: 503-808-6308
TDD: 503-808-6372
Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Washington State Historical
Society:
Washington State Historical Society
Special Collections Division
315 North Stadium Way
Tacoma, WA 98403
(253) 593-2830
Washington County Courthouses:
Adams County
Adams County Health District
103 West Main
Ritzville, WA 99169-1860
Telephone: (509) 659-0090 Ext 206
Asotin County
Asotin County Courthouse
135 2nd Street
Asotin, WA 99402
Telephone: (509) 243-4181
Benton County
Benton County Health District
506 McKenzie
Prosser, WA 99350-0190
Telephone: (509) 943-2614
Chelan-Douglas County
Chelan-Douglas County Health
District
200 Valley Mall Parkway
East Wenatchee, WA 98801
Telephone: (509) 886-6400
Clallam County
Clallam County Dept of Health & Human
Services
223 East 4th Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362-3098
Telephone: (360) 417-2303
Clark County
Clark County Clerk's Office
1200 Franklin Street
Vancouver, WA 98660-2872
Telephone: (360) 397-2292
Columbia County
Columbia County Clerk
341 E. Main St.
Dayton, WA 99328-1361
Telephone: (509) 382-4321
Cowlitz County
Cowlitz County Clerk
312 SW First Street
Kelso, WA 98626-1724
Telephone: (360) 577-3016
Douglas County
Douglas County Health District
316 Washington Street
Waterville, WA 98858-0516
Telephone: (509) 664-5306
Ferry County
Ferry County Clerk
P.O. Box 498
Republic, WA 99166-0498
Telephone: (509) 775-3161
Franklin County
Franklin County Clerk
1016 North Fourth Avenue
Pasco, WA 99301-3706
Telephone: (509) 545-3525
Garfield County
Garfield County Clerk
P.O. Box 915
Pomeroy, WA 99347-0915
Telephone: (509) 843-3731
Grant County
Grant County Clerk
P.O. Box 37
Ephrata, WA 98823-0037
Telephone: (509) 754-2011
Grays Harbor
Grays Harbor County Clerk
102 W. Broadway, Room 203
Montesano, WA 98563
Telephone: (360) 249-3842
Island County
Island County Clerk
P.O. Box 1317
Coupville, WA 98239-1317
Telephone: (360) 679-7359
Jefferson County
Jefferson County Clerk
P.O. Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Telephone: (360) 385-9115
King County
King County Courthouse
Vital Statistics -- Birth Records & Death Records
King County Administration Bldg., Rm 214
500 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Telephone: (206) 296-4768
Kitsap County
Kitsap County Clerk
614 Division St.
Mail Stop 34
Port Orchard, WA 98366-4614
Telephone: (360) 337-7164
Kittitas County
Kittitas County Clerk
Auditor's Office
205 W. 5th Ave.
Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Telephone: (509) 962-6811
Klickitat County
Klickitat County Clerk
205 S. Columbus Ave.
Mail Stop CH-2
Goldendale, WA 98620-9286
Telephone: (509) 773-4001
Lewis County
Lewis County Clerk
344 West Main
Chehalis, WA 98532-1922
Telephone: (360) 748-9121
Lincoln County
Lincoln County Clerk
450 Logan Street, P.O. Box 68
Davenport, WA 99122
Telephone: (509) 725-1401
Mason County
Mason County Clerk
Fourth and Alder, P.O. Box 400
Shelton, WA 98584
Telephone: (360) 427-9670, ext. 467 or 468
Okanogan County
Okanogan County Clerk
P.O. Box 72
Okanogan, WA 98840-0072
Telephone: (509) 422-3650
Pacific County
Pacific County Clerk
P.O. Box 67
South Bend, WA 98586-0067
Telephone: (360) 875-6541
Pend Oreille County
Pend Oreille County Clerk
P.O. Box 5000
Newport, WA 99156-5000
Telephone: (509) 447-3185
Pierce County
Pierce County Clerk
3629 South D Street
Tacoma, WA 98408
Telephone: (253) 798-6418
San Juan County
San Juan County Clerk
P.O. Box 638, Courthouse
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
Telephone: (360) 378-2163
Skagit County
Skagit County Clerk
P.O. Box 837
Mount Vernon, WA 98273-0837
Telephone: (360) 336-9311
Skamania County
Skamania County Clerk
P.O. Box 790
Stevenson, WA 98648-0790
Telephone: (509) 427-5141
Snohomish County
Snohomish Health District
3020 Rucker Ave.
Everett, WA 98201-3900
Telephone: (425) 339-5290
Spokane County
Spokane County Vital Records
1101 W College Ave
Spokane, WA 99210
Telephone: (509) 324-1522
Stevens County
Stevens County Auditor
Attention: Recording
215 South Oak Street
Colville, WA 99114
Telephone: (509) 684-3751
Thurston County
Thurston County Clerk
2000 Lakeridge Dr. SW, Bldg. 1
Olympia, WA 98502-6045
Telephone: (360) 754-3800
Wahkiakum County
Wahkiakum County Clerk
P.O. Box 116
Cathlamet, WA 98612-0016
Telephone: (360) 795-3558
Walla Walla County
Walla Walla County Clerk
315 West Main Street, P.O. Box 1856
Walla Walla, WA 99362-2838
Telephone: (509) 527-3221
Whatcom County
Whatcom County Clerk
311 Grand Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
Telephone: (360) 676-6777
Whitman County
Whitman County Clerk
P.O. Box 390
Colfax, WA 99111-0390
Telephone: (509) 397-4622
Yakima County
Yakima County Clerk
Second and East B Street
Yakima, WA 98901
Telephone: (509) 575-412
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